Living Doll
by TheRainInSpain
Summary: Grissom gets another miniature. But something is missing. Warning: Contains Spoilers for 7x24! Please don't read if you don't want to be spoiled!
1. Chapter 1

This is my take on the season 7 finale "Living Doll". Enjoy. And please R&R.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI or any of the characters. But oh, the power I would have if I did…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**WARNING**: This story contains spoilers of the season finale "Living Doll". Please don't read any further if you do not wish to be spoiled. You have been warned. Proceed with caution.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grissom sat straight up in his bed, his heart pounding uncontrollably. A line of cold sweat had formed on his upper lip and his breathing was hard and fast. There was a dim light coming through the bedroom window as the rain pelted the glass. He looked down beside him where Sara lay peacefully sleeping, unaware of his abrupt awakening. A flash of lightning lit up the darkened room followed by a low rumble of thunder. Sara moaned softly but continued to sleep and Grissom leaned down and gently kissed her forehead, careful not to wake her up. It was already 5pm, but he wanted her to sleep as long as she could.

Grissom quietly got up and headed off to the kitchen._ Their _kitchen. Grissom's townhouse had transformed since Sara moved in. It was no longer a cold and desolate space. Now it was warm and inviting, full of Sara's things. Grissom started the coffee pot as the storm raged on outside, the thunder shattering the silence of the house.

Sara stretched her arms out in front of her, hoping to feel Grissom still lying in bed next to her. Waking up next to him was one of the things she loved the most about getting up everyday. Disappointed not to find him still in bed, she grudgingly sat up and sauntered off to the kitchen.

Grissom was standing in front of the coffee pot as Sara walked up behind him and snaked her arms around his midsection.

She leaned up to his ear. "Good morning."

"Good evening would be more appropriate." He corrected her. Her breath upon his neck made him shiver and he swiveled around to embrace her with a kiss.

Sara moaned softly. "At any rate, it's good."

Grissom handed her a cup of coffee and she took a sip. Grissom unfolded the newspaper that lay on the table and began skimming it.

Sara put her cup down on the table. "I'm going to jump in the shower. Are you going to be here when I get out?"

"I think I'm going to head in a little early and catch up on some paperwork. Are you still working the double murder with Nick?"

"Yeah. We're waiting on DNA and trace but aside from that we've got nothing. I guess I'll see you at the lab then."

"Ok. Enjoy your shower and I'll see you later tonight." Grissom grinned.

"Oh, I will." Sara grinned back and with that she turned and headed for the shower.

Grissom arrived at the lab, picked up his messages and headed straight for his office. A moderately sized pile of paperwork greeted him atop his desk. He sighed heavily and sat down.

He was a quarter of the way through his workload when a knock at his door snapped him back to reality. Assuming it was probably Sara, he called for her to come in. It was Catherine.

"How's that paperwork coming?" She joked.

"How does it look like its coming? I've been at this for," glancing at his watch, "an hour and a half and this is as far as I've gotten."

"Well, maybe if you didn't wait so long to get it done, you wouldn't have this problem." Catherine couldn't help but tease her old friend.

"Cath, did you come in here to berate me, or did you actually need something?" Grissom asked slightly annoyed.

"No, I came in here to tell you that Warrick and I think we have some solid trace evidence on the Wiles case." Catherine sat down in the chair opposite Grissom.

"Good. Well, let me know what else comes up." Grissom said as he thumbed through more paperwork.

"Well, I thought you might want to know that the DA will have a strong case."

Grissom was looking down at his desk. He was still preoccupied with his paperwork when he mumbled a "Thank you."

"Hey boss, have you seen Sara around? I can't find her anywhere." Grissom looked up to see Nick standing in the doorway. Catherine turned to look at him.

"She's not here?" Grissom asked surprised.

"I haven't seen her at all tonight and you know her, she always around here somewhere. She didn't answer her cell phone either."

"Actually, I haven't seen her tonight either." added Catherine.

Grissom frowned. It was very uncharacteristic of Sara not to show up for work on time. It was more uncharacteristic of her not to show up a bit early. But she did have a tendency to exclude others from an investigation, especially one that she was deeply invested in. She and Nick were working on a double murder of a mother and son.

"Well, maybe she's running with a lead on your case Nick. She might have forgotten to call you." Grissom didn't want to sound too invested in Sara's whereabouts.

"Yeah, maybe. I guess I'll keep trying to get a hold of her. Thanks." Nick stalked off irritated that Sara would ditch him on a case they were_ supposed _to be working on together.

Cath stood up to leave. "I'm going to head to trace and see what they've got for me. Good luck with the paperwork."

"Thanks Cath."

As Cath disappeared around the corner, Grissom pulled out his phone and dialed Sara's cell. It went to voicemail. He left a short message for her to call him as soon as she got it. He hung up the phone and dialed his house phone. Answering machine. Grissom started to get a little worried but stopped himself.

"She's devoted to her work. She has a good reason to be wherever she is." He thought to himself. "Remain optimistic."

Grissom settled down to his paperwork once more. Soon there was a knock at the door and Grissom's head shot up. He yelled for whoever it was to come in and his heart sank when Hodges opened the door.

"Busy beaver you are, sir." Hodges said, pointing to the mound of paperwork still on the desk.

"What is it, Hodges?" Grissom took off his glasses, upset with himself for getting entirely too worked up over something that probably wasn't anything at all.

Slightly disheartened at his welcoming Hodges took the chair opposite Grissom's desk.

"Well, I have trace back on Nick and Sara's double murder case."

Grissom stared at him. "Ok, why aren't you telling Nick or Sara this?"

"Well, Nick is in Ballistics right now and I can't seem to find Sara anywhere. I was wondering if you knew where she was since she's always in here." Hodges thought very highly of his observation of this detail.

"No I haven't seen her." With that, Grissom stood up and exited his office, leaving Hodges sitting bewildered.

Grissom made his way through the corridor towards the locker room. He dialed Sara's cell phone as he walked. There was still no answer. He called the house phone once more. Still, no answer. He turned the corner and ran into Catherine.

"What's the matter?" Catherine asked, noticing Grissom's behavior.

"This isn't like Sara. She would have called at the very least to let someone know. Something's wrong." Grissom said, clearly upset.

Just as Catherine opened her mouth to say something, Judy the receptionist ran up to Grissom carrying a large cardboard box. It was addressed to Grissom with no return address.

"This package was just delivered to you, Dr. Grissom." She handed the box over to him.

"Thank you, Judy." Grissom and Catherine shared a nervous glance. This box looked eerily familiar.

Grissom crossed the hall to the evidence room and set the box down on the table. He put on gloves and carefully began to open it. Inside it was a perfect miniature model of Grissom's townhouse, before Sara had moved in.

Catherine helped him pull it out of the box. Suddenly she realized what it was. "Gil, that looks exactly like you house!"

Grissom continued to examine its entirety. It was a miniature of his whole house, not just one room. But this time there wasn't any victim inside. That he could see, anyway. The only thing that was wrong with the miniature was that it was missing all of Sara's things. And now, Sara was missing.

"Any word from Sara yet?" Nick stopped in the doorway.

"Not yet. Nick, take a look at what Grissom just got." Cath said and she pointed to the miniature as Nick was walking towards them.

As Nick leaned in to get a better look, Grissom suddenly turned to the two of them. "Cath, I want an APB put out on Sara's car. Nick, call Brass and tell him to meet me at my townhouse. Everyone's off their cases tonight. This," Grissom pointed to the miniature, "is everyone's priority. Cath, find Greg and tell him to read through my notes on the Miniature Crime Scene Killer that are on my desk and look for any clues in this one that might connect them."

Catherine nodded and Grissom turned to leave.

"Boss, shouldn't someone check Sara's apartment? Maybe that'll help." asked Nick.

Without even hesitating, Grissom turned to Nick. "She lives with me, Nick. She has for a few months now. This miniature is of _our_ townhouse, but without any of her things in it. And now she's missing. So let's go."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N Thanks for the reviews! I hope you are enjoying.


	2. Chapter 2

This is my take on the season 7 finale "Living Doll". Enjoy. And please R&R.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI or any of the characters. But oh, the power I would have if I did…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**WARNING**: This story contains spoilers of the season finale "Living Doll". Please don't read any further if you do not wish to be spoiled. You have been warned. Proceed with caution.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grissom could count on one hand the number of times he pulled his gun. Tonight was one of them. His chest was pounding. His heart beat so loudly that he was sure anyone close to him could hear it. Brass was usually strict on allowing a CSI to clear a scene, but this time he made an exception for an old friend.

Brass entered the townhouse first, followed by two uniformed officers and Grissom. Guns drawn, they cleared the house room by room, but there was no trace of Sara.

"Sara!" Grissom called as he made his way around the familiar territory. "Sara!"

Brass walked over to him. He put his hand on Grissom's shoulder. "We've cleared the house, Gil. She's not here. Her car is gone. Maybe, I don't know, maybe something came up suddenly that she needed to attend to. We've got an APB out on her car. Remember, Sara's a tough cookie. It's not time to worry yet." Brass motioned towards the door and the two officers followed suit.

Grissom sighed and turned to follow. Just then he spotted something out of place. Sitting on the bookshelf was a picture in a frame that had not been there earlier that night. As Grissom walked over to the picture, his heart began to beat wildly. A picture of a doll, identical to the ones found in each of the miniature crime scenes was staring back at Grissom.

"Jim..." Grissom called as he slipped on a pair of gloves and picked up the picture. Brass came up next to him. He looked at the picture and then at Grissom.

Grissom met his gaze. "Is it time to worry yet?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N I realize this chapter is extremely short, but I wanted to get it out before I forgot it. I might add more to this chapter later, but until then.. please be patient. And thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

This is my take on the season 7 finale "Living Doll". Enjoy. And please R&R.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own CSI or any of the characters. But oh, the power I would have if I did…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**WARNING**: This story contains spoilers of the season finale "Living Doll". Please don't read any further if you do not wish to be spoiled. You have been warned. Proceed with caution.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Control, this is Detective Brass. We have a 418. It's CSI Sara Sidle."

Grissom stared at the half full cup of coffee sitting on the kitchen table. He couldn't just stand there doing nothing but at the same time he felt helpless. Careful not to disturb anything, he made his way around the room looking for anything pertinent. No apparent sign of struggle, no blood, no furniture out of place. So far, nothing in the living room suggested Sara didn't leave voluntarily. Except for the picture. That was the only piece of evidence that linked the Miniature Killer to Sara's disappearance.

"Copy that." Brass turned to Grissom. "Catherine and Warrick are on their way over to process the scene. When was the last time you saw Sara?"

"It would have been sometime around 5:30pm, just before I headed to the lab. She was getting in the show—" Grissom stopped, remembering that Sara was in the shower when he left the townhouse. He turned down the hallway and made his way to the bathroom.

At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The shower curtain was pulled back, the bath mat was slightly askew and the medicine cabinet was open a crack. Grissom made a mental note of everything in the bathroom as he tried to recall how he had left it earlier in the evening. He retrieved a swab from his kit and knelt down to the bathtub drain. He swabbed the inside of the drain and reached for the phenolphthalein. Two drops confirmed his worst fear.

"My god…" Grissom whispered to himself. Just then, Catherine and Warrick appeared in the doorway.

"Blood in the drain? Could be incidental." Warrick thought aloud.

"It's possible." Grissom said, trying to control himself. "But I have a feeling that whatever happened tonight, happened here. I'll process the bathroom. Catherine, why don't you start on the bedroom and Warrick, you take the living room. Check out the picture of the doll. I think it's a message of some sort."

Warrick nodded and headed off in the direction of the living room. Catherine lingered in the doorway.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'll be better when we find Sara." Grissom sighed.

"We all will. First Nicky, now Sara." Catherine shook her head. She paused for a moment, but kept her eye on Grissom, who was staring at the bathroom floor.

"The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear." Grissom quoted.

Catherine frowned. "I've never been good at this game. Alright, who said it?"

Grissom breathed heavily and stood up. "Emerson. But in his eyes, I'm no wise man."

Catherine looked at him bewildered.

"I can't help but pray for Sara's safety."

Catherine put her hand on Grissom's shoulder. "We will find her, Gil." She said as she pulled him into a hug.

"Thanks Cath."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warrick closed up his kit and made his way out to the Denali. Catherine and Grissom were standing outside talking with Brass.

"I found a few hairs on the floor of the living room that weren't a visible match to Sara's and too long to be Grissom's, but aside from that I didn't find anything probative." Warrick said as he packed up his equipment and closed the back of the Denali.

Catherine sighed. "I found a few shirts thrown on the bedroom floor that seemed out of place. Grissom confirmed that they weren't there when he left. I'm thinking our kidnapper possibly interrupted Sara in the shower and then grabbed clothing from the bureau in the bedroom. I lifted several prints off it to run through AFIS, assuming that most will trace back to Sara and Grissom but hopefully we get lucky."

Grissom ran his hands through his hair and sighed. He motioned to the car when Brass' cell phone rang.

"Brass." He sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, we're on our way now." He hung up the phone and turned to Grissom.

"Security guard at the Tropicana called in a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot. Tags match Sara's."

Without hesitation all four of them got into their cars and headed for the Tropicana.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N Thanks for being so patient! Forgive me, I was out of the country for a study abroad. After the season finale, I was struck with a bit of writers block. But now my creative spark is back. This is my version of the season finale. There will be some reference to the actual season finale, so if you haven't seen it yet, you have been warned. Thanks for reading and as always please, please, pleaasssee review. It's the only way I can tell if you are enjoying what I'm layin' down and how I can make it better.


End file.
